Armidale airport was the perfect location to develop the industrial land the city was short of, Mayor Simon Murray said at Friday's announcement of funding for a new business precinct.
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"We're midway between Sydney and Brisbane roads, we've got an airport, and a number of agricultural industries that want to move produce," Cr Murray said.
On Friday morning, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall announced the state would contribute $6.5 million to the project.
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"If organisations can set up cool rooms, etc, for this to be a hub for sending things out, it would be a really good thing for Armidale," Cr Murray said.
"When you're looking at this land, and a private developer is looking at the other side, then that's a really good thing to happen."
Last year the council applied for $5 million from the government, and Cr Murray said the council had also invested about $4.5 million into the project.
"We bought property down the road, putting in water, sewer, NBN, plus we made a contribution to this, getting it over the line, and that's without staff time. So, you could nearly say it is fifty-fifty," he said.
We have a lot of high value production around here
- Andrew Murat
Cr Andrew Murat said he had been working on the project for 20 years, and had seen the previous Armidale-Dumeresq council put a lot of infrastructure into the development.
"A lot of people said 'What's council done!', but it was the infrastructure we needed to have to get this place to develop. The Business Park will attract businesses here that will take stuff out of here by road and by air," he said.
"One of my next projects, that I have been chasing for a fair period of time; I'd like to get an air freight terminal here."
Cr Murat said one way to get a freight terminal was to close down the airport for six months while the existing runway was upgraded, which he acknowledged was not possible.
"The big plan is to develop a parallel runway to the existing one that would then become a taxi-way or something similar, until we get that runway up to 737 jet standard. It would mean we can get larger aircraft in here for future growth," Cr Murat said.
This will drive economic development in this region.
- Adam Marshall
It was very obvious that Mr Marshall enjoyed the announcement very much. He described the project as Armidale's coming of age.
"It is going to help this region grow and realise its vast economic potential. You don't find this kind of commercial land anywhere else that on a national highway with thousands of vehicles going past every day, an airport and all the NBN connections," he said.
"Now we can put it all together to drive forward. We've got this 73 lot business park, and council has already been into a number of discussions with businesses that are interested in this site."
Mr Marshall said the project was a source of both frustration and inspiration to get across the line with council, because he recognised the massive potential this region offered.